When Bread Meets Chocolate

Sometimes, when I’m feeling down, there’s nothing like eating hot-from-the-oven bread slathered with chocolate. I watch as the chocolate surrenders to the heat and dribbles ever so languorously down the white loaf.

This is a nice cake-like bread full of chocolate and cinnamon, and textured with nuts. I used hazelnuts but you can use any nuts you prefer. I like to make this when I’m feeling blue or I can’t sleep.

The dough here is a rich golden yellow because of the egg yolks, which also results in its stickiness. While kneading, add more flour with a light hand. Too much flour will make this tough and dry. Knead until the dough is elastic and smooth.

The filling for the dough is chocolate. I prefer to cut from a block of chocolate instead of using chocolate chips, which I think melts unevenly. You can also add a streusel (nut) mixture to the filling OR use the streusel as a topping. It’s your choice.

Since I’m a cinnamon lover, I always add more than the required cinnamon. For this creation, I was excited to use the cinnamon that my Bin had brought back for me from India. Pungent and sinus-clearing, it smells like the cinnamon oil I used to make cinnamon sticks from when I was in grade school.

I let this rise overnight in the refrigerator before baking, but you don’t have to, then I woke up extra early to bake it. The household woke up to its intoxicating smell.

This cake is so cotton-soft and fluffy, that you don’t even have to chew. Just close your mouth and it melts, leaving nothing behind but a rhapsody of chocolate and bread.